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What may have seemed like a pie-in-the-sky concept a few years ago proved to be a well-grounded idea Tuesday morning when the first-ever students walked through the doors of the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus.

It was the opening day of classes for 17 graduate students in the Masters of Digital Experience Innovation (MDEI) program and a significant milestone for the local initiative.

"It's the culmination of five years of hard work," said Tobi Day-Hamilton, director of advancement for the Stratford campus, shortly after students arrived at the Wellington St. building. "It's nice to see real live students here and to know that we've made it."

The idea for a post-secondary institution in Stratford first started taking shape about five years ago, and the collaboration between the city, the University of Waterloo, the province and other industry partners has grown significantly in a relatively short period of time.

Seeing the classroom filled with students yesterday morning was "very exciting," said Day-Hamilton.

"Before, it was a vision," she said. "Now it's a reality."

And it's one that continues to evolve.

"This is just the start of a program that's set to build and grow over the next few years," said Mayor Dan Mathieson.

As students took their seats at the university's temporary downtown home, construction was continuing a few blocks away on the permanent building on the northwest corner of the former Cooper site on St. Patrick St.

That's expected to be completed next summer, in time for the arrival of new students next fall.

Mathieson said that while there have been some naysayers, most people see the university as a welcome addition to a city that's quickly emerging as a digital centre of excellence in Canada.

"It's the realization of something the city has long aspired to have within the community," he said. "It's strategic."

Mathieson, who has been integrally involved in the discussions about establishing a university campus here from the start, said it's nice to see that vision fulfilled this week with the arrival of the MDEI students.

Day-Hamilton said the first crop represents a fairly broad cross-section of learners, with mature students as well as younger ones who have just completed their bachelor's degree. While many are from Ontario, there are also some international students from as far away as Pakistan and China.

They're trailblazers in a unique interdisciplinary digital media program that brings together business, technology and creativity.

"I think that's what attracted them to the program in the first place.

There's nothing quite like it," said Day-Hamilton.

In the lead-up to the first day of classes, the students, fittingly, have been using social media sites like Google Groups to communicate, find rental accommodations in Stratford and arrange carpooling.

In the classroom this week, they'll be participating in an intensive digital media workshop that will introduce them to the team-based, project-centred approach that forms the core of the one-year program.

Regular classes begin next week.

In the meantime, the University of Waterloo has named an acting executive director for the Stratford campus.

Ginny Dybenko, former dean of the School of Business at Wilfrid Laurier University, will take on that role starting Oct. 1. She was recognized in 2008 as one of Canada's 100 most powerful women by the Women's Executive Network.